Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Edson Castillo had a torrid end to the 2023-2024 season but things are looking up for the Venezuela man.
Kaizer Chiefs star meets the GOAT
Venezuela held World Champions Argentina to a 1-1 draw on Thursday night in a notoriously difficult section of World Cup qualifying. Former Man City defender Nicolas Otamendi put Argentina in front on 13 minutes but journeyman striker Salomon Rondon equalised on 65 minutes to give La Vinotinto a share of the spoils. 35-year-old Rondon has enjoyed stints with Las Palmas, Malaga, Rubin Kazan, Zenit Saint Petersburg, West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle, CSKA Moscow, Everton River Plate and Pachuca. Safe to say he’s been there, done that and got the T-shirt. Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Edson Castillo was a late substitute in Monagas at a stadium where he used to play his home games at club level and he also got to share the pitch with Lionel Messi. Next, Venezuela meets Paraguay at 01:00 (SA time) in the early hours of Wednesday 16 October.
A winding road for Castillo
30-year-old midfield dynamo Edson Castillo made his debut for La Vinotinto in June 2021. That’s almost three years and three months ago. In that time, he’s only collected 10 caps. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce that Edson Castillo isn’t a key part of the Venezuela setup. He wasn’t in their Copa América squad and isn’t part of the latest squad to face Bolivia and Uruguay. However, he was a late substitute in their 1-1 draw with Argentina on Friday. Before this, his last competitive action was in November 2023 when he played only 11 minutes across TWO World Cup qualifiers. Before that, the last sniff of game time he got was in October 2021 when he got 25 minutes against Brazil in a World Cup qualifier.
Fortunes are changing
Castillo seems to be back in the picture for his country. He was also recently in the starting XI for Chiefs against Sundowns so Nasreddine Nabi might fancy him for the big games. Does this signal a reversal in fortunes for a man who battles for form and consistency in 2023-2024?
Amakhosi stars on duty for their countries
Chiefs’ new number 1 goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari was in goal for Rwanda as they got thrashed 3-0 by Benin on Friday evening. One of the goal-scorers was former Huddersfield and Montpellier striker Steve Mounie. He’s now on the books of German Bundesliga side Augsburg. Ntwari and Rwanda have a chance to atone next against Benin at home on Tuesday 15 October. Meanwhile, Thatayaone Ditlhokwe helped his Botswana side to a 1-0 win over Cape Verde on Thursday. They meet the Islanders again on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Rushwin Dortley started Bafana Bafana’s resounding 5-0 win over Congo and will expect to keep his place in the return match on Tuesday.
Does Castillo still have value to offer Chiefs?
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